1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a filter unit which is useful for making a small quantity, for example a cupful, of fresh coffee or other flavored beverage.
2. Description of the related art
It has been proposed heretofore to make coffee and other beverages by suspending, in a container, a filter bag which holds the desired flavoring, and pouring water through the bag whereby the water picks up flavoring and passes into the container.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,616,934, dated Nov. 2, 1971, J. C. Ehrlich has proposed a bag made of two sheets of filter paper stitched together along their edges to form a bag having an open mouth portion, flaps of the sheets being folded outwardly at the mouth and stitched down to form open-ended channels which receive oppositely bowed arms of a wire holder. These bowed arms hold the mouth portion open, and the wire holder can span the rim of a pot or cup to suspend the bag therein, out of contact with the walls of the pot.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,805,164, dated Sept. 3, 1957, R. A. Doppler discloses a more complex package of foil having a filter paper liner. A lower corner of the foil package can be torn off and the package can be opened to form a funnel that can be supported over a cup by means of a wire ring. The filter paper liner can hold ground coffee, and water poured into the funnel passes through the coffee on its way into the cup.